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Nick Saban Already In Hot Water

May 24, 2007 – 10:19 PM
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Brian Grummell

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Well, that didn't take long.
Alabama officials would not comment on reports that coach Nick Saban might have violated NCAA rules limiting contact with potential recruits.

The Miami Herald and canesports.com reported that three south Florida junior prospects described conversations with Saban during his recruiting trip last week that might have exceeded NCAA rules limiting face-to-face contact with recruits to "exchange of a greeting" between April 15 and May 31. Coaches are allowed to evaluate high school players at their schools during that period.

If violations occurred, they were likely secondary and wouldn't lead to significant penalties.
This situation, distilled, is Miami and coach Randy Shannon sending a stern broadside to Alabama to stay away from their recruits. And perhaps (speculation alert) some getback at Saban from the Herald for whatever sins he committed with the press while head coach with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Ahhhh the intrigue.

The coaches at both programs are in their first year at high-pressure jobs. It's no surprise they're sparring for recruits given unusually high expectations on both to produce and produce early. Besides, Miami has to defend its local recruiting turf and picked a huge target in Nick Saban to publicize allegations of fairly modest recruiting violations.

Gotta love college football!
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